


Hatch!

by SillyBlue



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alpha Dean Winchester, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Dragons, Dragon Castiel (Supernatural), Dragon Dean Winchester, Egg Care, Hatchiette the Egg, M/M, Omega Castiel (Supernatural), Omega Castiel/Alpha Dean Winchester, Stubborn Castiel (Supernatural)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:33:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21598366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SillyBlue/pseuds/SillyBlue
Summary: When Cas started college, he assumed to be free of many of the irritating aspects of high school. Imagine his irritation when he learns that he has to participate in another of those dreadful "how to raise your egg" courses. He is even further irritated when he is paired with Dean Winchester of all people. But Cas is prepared to carry this project by himself, making sure that their assigned fake egg survives. He just didn't expect that Dean was less incompetent than he had assumed.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 60
Kudos: 267
Collections: The Destiel Fan Survey Favs Collection





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [xHaruka17x](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xHaruka17x/gifts).

> I started writing this based on a prompt xHaruka17x sent me. :D
> 
> I'm partially making it up as I go so I'm not sure yet how many parts this might have though I doubt this will be a long story. Incomplete as it might be, I wanted to get this little first part out because it's my birthday today and I need to bring gifts.

College, Castiel had decided, was in some ways disappointingly similar to high school. His mother was still breathing fire down his neck (at least he swore he could feel it even across the telephone), he still had a hard time with social interactions, there were still some familiar faces around campus he'd rather not see. And there were still compulsory hatching courses for unfortunate alphas and omegas.

When he had received the flyer, insisting on his participation in the state funded hatching classes, Castiel had groaned internally. But his mother had raised him to never back down from a task and to always excel at everything he did. So even though he was fuming (internally, of course, he wouldn't want to set off the smoke detector again) he attached the ugly, bright orange flyer to his corkboard and marked it down in his calendar. Before he left his dorm for classes, he gave it one more scathing look.

> **November 20, 1999**
> 
> **HATCH! **
> 
> **Invitation to our annual Hatching program. Kick-off meeting on November 20, 6 PM in Room 118, introduction given by Dr. Eleanor Visyak.**
> 
> ** _HATCH! Is part of a California State sponsored campaign for the sensibilization of hatching care to combat the decline of healthy hatchings. _ **
> 
> ** _In association with Dragon Youth of California and the sexual health and education group FIRE UP._ **

* * *

If Cas had had friends who attended Stanford with him, then he surely would have complained to them how unnecessary it was to do another hatching workshop in college. But as it was Cas had no friends here and he clearly knew none of the other participants mingling in the room, displaying a range of emotions from awkward to annoyed. His mother had encouraged him to sign up for the Dragon Association but since it had been more of a suggestion than an order, Cas had elected to ignore it. He didn't want to admit that he felt a miniscule pang of regret because if he had signed up, then he would at least – possibly – know some of the other people in this room. Stanford was a mixed university and dragons were an immigrant species in the US and still pretty rare. He counted about two dozen people, which was impressive. They must have done the same thing he did; chose Stanford exactly because it was mixed species.

Castiel took a seat in the front, carefully keeping his eye contact with others at a minimum, but he nodded at the woman in front. Dr. Visyak, Cas was sure. Behind her was a row of 10 generic white eggs, probably made out of some kind of rubber, and some electronic devices. There were also boxes stacked high, probably with tools for them to use. The set up looked more advanced than the high school project he had been forced to participate in when he was 16.

But Cas had excelled it then and he would make sure to bring his egg to hatching this time as well.

Dr. Visyak checked her watch, then she counted heads. "We seem to be one person short, but let's get started already." People settled after Visyak sent the muttering people a glare, her eyes flashing silver in warning. "I know you have better things to do, we all have, but the State is very concerned about the staggering number of egg mishandling and nest abandonment, especially among young people. Our numbers are small and we dragons have adapted to the requirements of the predominantly human culture around us. Most of us no longer live in packs, most of us didn't grow up with a pack omega to teach us everything about proper nest care and hatching techniques. Some of you, probably the girls, got to play with Hatching dolls, but as we all know the modern hatching doll is human toy companies' attempt at pulling dragons and other egg laying species into their consumer fold." Some people chuckled. Deriding humans for trying to sell them things was something dragons enjoyed doing, at least in the privacy of dragon only circles. In any case, Cas' older sister had played with hatching dolls and when Anna had handed them to Cas after she grew out of it, he realized that they were not only boring but also wildly inaccurate.

"It's been decades since we had to reveal ourselves to humans and that might not sound like much to you guys, but the dragon population in the US is in crisis. We have simply neglected to pass on vital information in our pursuit of adaptation," she announced and the mood in the room took quite a nosedive after that. "So maybe these campaigns seem like a waste of time, but it's crucial that you know some things if you happen to find yourself face to face with an egg."

Castiel found that to be somewhat reasonable. It wasn't that he expected to have children anytime soon, but he was entirely sure that if he did, then he'd be perfectly ready for the task.

"Has any one of you ever assisted in a hatching?" Visyak answered and when she lifted her eyebrows Cas dared to turn around and found a red-haired girl eagerly lifting her hand. "I'm pleasantly surprised. At least one of you, out of a group of 19."

The door opened with a loud squeak of the hinges and the entire classroom turned to look to the side. Castiel instantly narrowed his eyes. Dean Winchester was strolling into the room, a bright cheeky smile on his face, showing off his alpha fangs. The irritating thing about Dean Winchester was that he was handsome and he knew it. This kind of confidence in one's own scales shot sparks of jealousy through Cas. Cas wasn't exactly shy, but he just never really got along with people, dragons or otherwise. (That he was a male omega didn’t help matters. Humans found it freaky, dragons deemed it unfortunate.)

"I amend; at least one of you, out of a group of 20. Sit yourself down, sir. You're late." Dean shrugged, then he shook hands with some of his friends before, their hands connecting with obnoxiously loud clapping sounds, before he sat down towards the back. "When you're taking care of your egg, you can't afford to be late," Visyak finally continued after the noise had settled. She lifted one of the eggs, using both hands. "You will be paired off and given one of these. They are average size and weight for an egg shortly after delivery. The egg has sensors which send information to this little control device." Visyak balanced the egg in one hand - having Cas tense up at once because it was in violation of one of the major rules for egg handling - then grabbed the little electronic device. "This device will measure temperature, movement and impact." She pressed a button, some red letters flashing on a small display. Then she let the egg roll off her hand. It smashed to the ground and while it didn't break, the device started beeping loudly, more letters flashing on the device. Visyak looked at it, then she made an exaggerated motion of throwing up her hands. "Oh, would you look at that. Fall damage, trauma to the egg. It's dead."

Some uneasy chuckles went through the room. Logically, Cas knew that dragon eggs were durable, the shell hard and sturdy some weeks after it had hardened up from the softer shell present during birth. But there were crucial weeks after delivery when the slowly hardening shell was prone to easy cracking when people weren't careful.

"Your egg will be rebooted after you bring it in, so don't try to get out of this by killing your egg as soon as possible. The aim of this course is to familiarize you with egg care. I will let you go out into the wild with the egg for two weeks, see how you'll manage on your own. Each group receives a hatching kit, containing tools and information booklets. It's up to you if you want to make use of it, if you want to consult with family members or check out the library for information. Or maybe you want to wing it and see what happens. After that we'll check in, see how you fared, and then we'll have experts here to teach you proper egg care."

"That's so exciting!" someone whispered and Cas was pretty sure it was the red-head from before. He kinda wished he could pair up with her, but if this was like in high-school they would be doing alpha-omega pairs. And alphas, especially newly presented 16-year-olds were just absolutely useless for this kind of task.

His little spark of hope for a somewhat agreeable project were quickly dashed by Visyak pulling out a clip board, announcing that they would be paired up into alpha-omega pairs.

"That's discriminatory! Omega pairs and alpha pairs can also raise eggs together!" the same high voice spoke up again. Some of the other young adults groaned and muttered but Cas liked her already. "It's 1999, folks! Get a grip!" Dr. Visyak just heaved a sigh.

"I'll be sure to forward your complaint. But for the mean time we'll just stick to the script," she said and then she started assigning groups and handing out hatching kits. He was disgruntled to see the red-head, Charlie, being paired off with someone else, some alpha who clearly looked bored out of his mind. And he was even further disgruntled to learn that he himself had been paired with no other than Dean Winchester himself.

"Hey, Cas. Long time no see," he said with a wink. Visyak frowned down at her sheet when Dean and Cas were standing before her.

"Oh, I see, Castiel isn't a girl's name," she said and squinted at the list again, maybe thinking that the omega sign behind Cas' name would suddenly change.

"Omega name for an omega dude," Dean said, still grinning but there was an edge to it, daring Visyak to comment negatively. Castiel would have been pleasantly surprised by Dean jumping to his defense if he wouldn't have been so flustered. He really should have been used to this by now. College wasn't that different to high school after all. Visyak however cleared her throat and nodded.

"Sure, here's your kit," she said and bent down to grab the box.

"It's biblical," Cas said and Dean inclined his head towards him, without looking at him, muttering a distracted "huh?". Clearly, he was checking out Dr. Visyak's behind.

"My name. It's not an omega name. It's biblical in origin."

"Okay, cool," Dean said with a shrug and then he got handed the box. Visyak then lifted the egg off the table.

"It's switched on. Congratulations, this is your baby for the next three months. Try not to let it die too much, it'll be embarrassing for our program."

"Wouldn't dream of embarrassing you, sweetheart," Dean said and Cas snorted at the disrespectful way to address the woman, but Dr. Visyak only eyed Dean up and down with an appreciative look. That was clearly inappropriate, so Cas reached out and took the egg out of Dr. Visyak's hands. He held it in the recommended hand position, fingers splayed properly, hands maintaining a slightly raised temperature, before he pressed it gingerly to his chest. The egg was surprisingly heavy and weirdly textured, hard below with a softer rubber covering. But most interestingly was that it was warm and pulsated slightly. Really, far more advanced than it had been in high school, where they had used basketballs with painted on faces. Castiel wished Dr. Visyak a good evening and then he left the room, his steps careful and eyes looking for potential threats. Human adolescent males on skateboards with headphones on seemed the most challenging obstacle between himself and his dorm. Dean trailed after him a while later, the things in the hatching kit rattling in the box with Dean's steps.

"So okay, how are we going to go about making sure Hatchiette isn't dead by the end of week two?" Castiel frowned, looking to his side to find Dean had caught up with him. Possibly after some further inappropriate flirting.

"Hatchiette?"

"What, were you just gonna call it egg?"

"Obviously," Castiel answered, walking towards his dorm room, Dean in tow. "And I will take care of it. You don't have to bother."

"Why wouldn't I bother? I showed up, didn't I?" Dean asked with a grin.

"You didn't show up when we did this during high school," Castiel said sharply and Dean shrugged. Did this man take nothing seriously?

"I hadn't officially presented yet. I didn't have to go," he told him and Cas rolled his eyes. "You can't blame me for being a late bloomer. Or trying to get out of that nonsense. I had way better things to do with my time than go cuddle some basketballs."

"Well, other than you I _have_ attended, so I know exactly what to do. You can carry the hatching kit to my dorm and then you're free to do _way better things_," Castiel said, mentally going through the steps required to provide the ideal incubating conditions with his limited resources. He had already planned how to incorporate the egg into his regular schedule. His manager had looked at him weirdly for a second when he had explained that a fake egg would be joining him on his shifts, but she had brushed it aside with her usual nonchalance when it got to "dragon stuff" in ways only humans could.

"Seriously, Cas, I can actually help," Dean said, a small crease between his brows.

"I feel you would only complicate the matter. I have it already planned out."

"Well, usually it takes two to make eggs."

"But usually alphas have no interest in nesting," Castiel answered flatly, which had Dean frown some more. There was no use denying it. His mother always said it and the project in high school had proven it to Cas. His alpha partner had been horrible and useless. He doubted Dean was any better. He doubted any of the alphas would perform particularly well.

"Yeah, well, I have to go to work, so I guess Hatchiette stays with you for today," Dean said eventually, when they had reached Cas' dorm room. He put the box down.

"The egg will not be called Hatchiette," Castiel objected.

"Hand me a copy of your schedule," Dean demanded, ignoring Cas completely, but at least possessing enough common sense not just to barge into an omega dragon's abode without invitation. Castiel narrowed his eyes at him, but Dean was grinning disarmingly. Handsome face totally relaxed. Again, that bubble of irritation formed inside of Castiel, making his face feel a bit hot. "Come on. Maybe I want to learn? What if I knock up some poor omega?" Castiel stared at him for the casual way Dean could even suggest such a thing. Cas knew about Dean's reputation, though he had always assumed it to be slightly exaggerated. Surely nobody could be having that much sex and still maintain straight As in a majority of his classes. Though Dean also skipped a lot of his classes, claiming boredom. And that had irritated Cas. The lack of dedication, taking everything for granted, treating everything as a joke. Well, this wasn't a joke to Cas. But there was still that niggling sense of worry in a remote part of his brain. What if Dean did knock up someone? What if he was honorable enough to support them? Could Castiel live with himself if their unfortunate egg perished because Dean didn't know how to maintain its ideal core temperature?

Castiel sniffed, but his mind was made up.

"Fine. I'll get you a copy. We can schedule brood meetings in our free period," Castiel determined.

"Brood meeting, seriously?" Dean muttered in disbelief, "what are we, chicken?" Castiel tilted his head at him, then he went into his dorm, carefully sitting down the egg on the makeshift nest he had prepared next to his bed.

"The terminology is fitting," was all Cas said when he handed Dean a copy of his schedule. Dean rolled his eyes, but his lips were pulled up into a smile. He was giving Castiel pretty contradictory signals, but whatever went on in Dean's head, Dean's face definitely brought back a certain uncomfortable feeling in Castiel's stomach. Must be irritation.

"Okay, I'm off tomorrow at 1PM too. We can organize then." This agreed upon, they parted ways and Castiel closed the door on him, happy to catch a breath of air that didn't smell like Dean for a chance. Because Dean was an irresponsible alpha, absolutely not fit to be partnered with Cas, especially not fit to mate and raise children with. Not fit to raise children! No _with_ implied or required or desired! Cas corrected mentally. It was only right to slam the door on that particular thought right away.

It was time to check the egg's temperature.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the wait. November and December have been very difficult months for me and even though I wanted to write my mind was just a lot of white noise. I hope there won't be a month long wait until the next chapter :3

According to Castiel's mother he wasn't particularly good at predicting people. Castiel had never put much thought into it because he had no interest in people and he wasn't as fearful of the manifold dangers his mother saw lurking in human society. Besides, he was perfectly capable of predicting them.

That was why he knew that even though he had wrestled an agreement for a brood meeting out of him, Dean wouldn't be a reliable partner. Maybe he would show up sporadically, so that he could claim having contributed, but he would hardly want to actually help. So Cas made no adjustments to his carefully crafted schedule for the next three months. He measured and adjusted the egg's temperature, administered the recommended amount of skin contact and expertly ignored the stares and whispers of his non-dragon classmates when he brought the egg along for lectures. He got this and he was able to do it alone. This was mere practice.

He had almost forgotten about Dean (or at least made a valiant effort not to think about him) by the time 1 PM rolled around and was accordingly taken by surprise to find Dean lingering by his door with a huge grin. Castiel was too distracted by his gleaming fangs and his general presence to say much.

"Dude, you bring Hatchiette to class?" Dean asked, nodding at the sling Cas had wrapped around his chest, the egg carefully tucked inside. That managed to shake Cas out of his stupor.

Maybe there was some grain of truth to his mother's assessment of his so-called flaw. He hadn't expected Dean to actually show up.

"Of course. I can't let it be unsupervised." Dean lifted an eyebrow.

"Aren't nests usually unsupervised for plenty of time? It's not like you guys sit on the eggs all day," he wondered, not moving from his spot in front of the door while Castiel pulled out his key.

"Sitting on the egg at this stage is strongly discouraged as the shell hasn't hardened enough to take that kind of pressure," Castiel snapped. Dean rolled his eyes, then he put his hand on the door to Cas' apartment. Castiel shot it and then the alpha attached to the arm, an alarmed look.

"What? You're not gonna let me in?" Dean teased. Castiel had half a dozen arguments to this, but none of them sounded particularly convincing even to himself. "You're an alpha!" made Cas sound like he was a scandalized damsel in fear of her virtue and as it was the argument on the forefront of Cas' mind he should better say nothing at all.

Instead, Castiel snorted and brushed past Dean and his provocation, unlocking his door and slipping inside. He let his eyes drift over his space swiftly, before he turned and opened the door to Dean. Dean grinned and stepped inside. Castiel didn't wait to receive a verdict from Dean, but walked across the room to put the egg down into the nest by the bed. Cas wasn't particularly fond of the place; even though it was bare, it was small enough that the little furniture Cas had made it look cluttered. He had a small kitchen nook, a desk for studying and eating at, a bed next to the window and a small couch. But he also had a bathroom that he didn't have to share, which made this all somewhat acceptable. Acceptable, but not particularly appealing, a sentiment that not only his mother but also Dean seemed to share.

But contrary to Castiel's assumption, Dean didn't feel the need to comment on it. He dropped his bag and sat down on the couch.

"Alright!" he announced but then didn't say anything else, looking up at Cas with something akin to expectation. Cas only titled his head, prompting Dean to explain what he wanted: "Do you have something to drink?"

It was a universally acknowledged truth that dragons were not especially renowned for their hosting abilities or willingness to entertain guests in their dwellings. Apparently, Dean wasn't aware of this.

"I'm not used to host guests," Castiel told him, caught off guard.

"That's all right! It's pretty easy. Just offer your guest something to drink and you've already done a good job," he said and Cas couldn't quite make out if he was being ridiculed. Dean's expression was friendly enough and he turned away from Cas to grab something out of his backpack. Cas sent him one more glance, before he turned to the kitchen nook and got out two glasses from the cupboard. Luckily, he actually did own two. Both of them had human cartoon prints on them that Cas wasn't familiar with. They had held mustard once upon a time and his mother never threw them out, certain that they could be passed down to Cas to start his own hoard. Cas was 100 percent sure that he didn't want his hoard to be cartoon covered glasses, but he didn't have enough money to be picky about what he drank out of.

"I have Sprite," he finally offered, reaching for the bottle. It was the only thing he had next to water and tea.

"Yeah, whatever you have is fine!" Dean called distractedly, scribbling something on a notepad. Cas was a bit uneasy to have him at his back, but he filled the two glasses and took them to the couch. He didn't have a side table so he put a book on the couch and set the glasses down on it. It would do.

"Thanks, Cas," Dean said, taking a sip. "So, what are you studying?" Cas eyed him warily, earning him an amused snort. "This is called small talk. People do it." Now Cas was sure that he was being teased.

"We're not people. We're dragons."

"We're still people," Dean said with a laugh. "Just humor me! I haven't seen you since we graduated high school!" Which had been last summer, so hardly a long time ago, especially for people who weren't friends. Castiel refrained from pointing it out.

"History…" Dean snapped his fingers.

"Should have known! You were always a history nerd, like Sammy! Let me guess. You want to work at a museum once you grow up," Dean said with a wink and Cas couldn't help being offended. Of course he wanted to work at a museum, it was a perfectly respectable job. Dean reacted by lifting both hands defensively, one still holding his drink. "Dude, chill. I can tell you're two seconds away from roasting me to a crisp."

"That would achieve nothing but set off the fire alarm. Fire can't hurt you," Cas huffed in annoyance. Dean rolled his eyes.

"I just meant that it's one of the stereotypes that dragons like working in any field that involved hoards. Like a museum's collection or… or a zoo I guess."

"So is that what you're going to be? A zoo director?" Cas grumbled, hardly appeased by the explanation of the joke.

"Nope. I'm doing computer sciences. Programming and such. I've always liked solving problems that didn't involve grammar and remembering dates of human battles." Cas did remember that Dean had excelled in mathematics. Dean had excelled in pretty much anything.

"So I guess you're a dragon that likes riddles," Castiel said with a snort. It was meant to tease but Dean instead grinned happily.

"I sure am! I'm Smaug, just better looking and less rich," Dean answered after a short burst of laughter.

"Smaug…?" Dean stared at him, all the laughter gone in a flash, replaced by surprise.

"Dude, don't tell me you've never read The Hobbit!" Cas gave a small shake of his head, only adding to Dean's incredulity. "Tolkien?" Another shake of Cas' head followed. "Come on man! They're even making a movie of Lord of the Rings!" If Cas wasn't so irritated, he would have been amused by Dean's agitation. The alpha heaved a mighty sigh. "Whatever. Smaug's the dragon sitting on the dwarves' gold in The Hobbit." That vaguely rang a bell for Cas, though he didn't understand how Dean would like being compared to that dragon.

"I've never been particularly interested in human fiction. Especially if they involved dragons… My mother finds them offensive." Dean rolled his eyes at that which rubbed Cas the wrong way instantly. "We often are the bad guys and die. How could you possibly find that interesting?"

"It's fiction. And it's not really about us, but about what humans have thought to be a mythological creature for centuries. It's fun!" Castiel hardly found that a convincing argument but wasn't interested in a debate about fiction.

"Let's cut the small talk short. We're here to discuss the project in case you still insist on being involved," Castiel announced, feeling flustered and somewhat embarrassed even though he had no reason to be.

"I might still knock up some poor omega," Dean argued with a grin and yes, that was a worrying thought.

"What do you want to know?" Cas asked uneasily. "I think condoms work for alpha dragons as well as they do for human men. So maybe you should focus on contraceptives…?" Dean laughed at that.

"Dude! Let's just work this project together!"

"But… I've already planned it all out. You're just going to complicate the matter," Castiel insisted.

"Well, though luck. The task is for both of us, so stop hoarding it."

"I'm… I'm not hoarding it!" Cas argued hotly, "I'm just making sure I won't fail." Now it was Dean's turn to roll his eyes. Again.

"Come on. I'm not stupid and it's not like we'll be graded." Cas hardly found that a comforting attitude, but he had no good arguments to keep Dean uninvolved.

"Fine…" he managed to say eventually. Dean's expression lit up immediately.

"Great! Visyak said we have free reign in the first two weeks. I could take Hatchiette for a day and then we'd meet up, discuss and then you'll take her again and so forth," Dean offered. "Or you have her the first week and I take her the second week, so we both get to experiment individually."

"I… don't know… The omega is supposed to guard the egg." Cas could see a frown appear between Dean's brows again.

"Maybe back when our ancestors were still living in mountain caves, only swooping down into the valleys to steal some sheep four hundred years ago!"

"Assimilation to human culture is far more recent than four hundred years ago," Castiel argued. "And Alphas today still don't get involved. Whether they live in caves or among humans."

"Dude, my dad was just as involved in raising me as my mom was," Dean told him with a frown, then he studied Castiel's face. Some sort of cold feeling swept through Cas even as his face heated up under Dean's scrutiny. "I'm sorry if your dad was a shitty parent."

"I don't want to talk about my father," Cas forced out.

"Sure…" Silence reigned after that and while Cas rarely minded silence, he felt rather awkward. "Okay. Keep Hatchiette for today. I'll have to head to my next class soon. I'll drop by tomorrow. 4 PM okay for you?"

"I'm working at the gas-n-sip until 10 PM…"

"Well, then the day after tomorrow?" Dean wondered, "you're free during lunch, right?"

"Yes, I guess…" Castiel said. Dean nodded, then he stuffed his notes back into his backpack. "Sorry to cut the meeting short, but I have to run an errand before class." Castiel nodded and Dean emptied his glass in three quick gulps. "Nice glasses by the way. Rescue Rangers. Didn't peg you for a Disney cartoon guy." Cas frowned at him. "It's cute. I'm more of a Scooby Doo guy myself though."

"If you say so," Cas said, not even trying to understand what exactly Dean was referring to. He walked Dean to the door.

"Take care of Hatchiette," Dean told him, his expression and voice exaggeratedly serious.

"Of course," Cas said with a roll of his eyes and Dean's grin was back. "Good-bye, Dean."

"Bye Cas!" Cas watched him leave, an odd unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach.

* * *

Even though Cas did his best to avoid his mother, he took a slow moment at work to call her. He had the egg on a little cushion under the counter, close enough to frequently check the temperature and cover it up with blankets if necessary.

"It's highly unusual for you to ask for advice," his mother said. "Or to heed it if I give it to you."

"I have nobody else to consult with," Cas said, earning himself a snort by his mother.

"I'm touched," she said in that tone of voice that indicated sarcasm. "But I have 5 minutes. Speak." Castiel checked the store again and glimpsed through the windows into the empty space at the gas pumps.

"University has arranged for another hatching class and I feel… unsettled by my alpha partner's insistence that he should be involved in the project. When we did it in high school my partner's involvement was more sabotage than help. And you have taught me that alphas are not involved in hatchings. He seems to have a different idea and it's… odd." His mother was quiet for a moment.

"How do his ideas differ?" she asked eventually.

"He suggested taking turns in caring for the egg and when I informed him that alphas aren't usually involved, he claimed that his father was as involved in his upbringing as his mother was," Castiel summed it up. He wasn't sure if he managed to get across why he was unsettled without bringing up what Dean had said about Cas' father. He just hoped his mother would say something without him having to mention it. But considering how the last 19 years of his life had gone when it got to the topic of fatherhood, he doubted she would be forthcoming.

"Some dragons feel more comfortable in human family structures, though as far as I know human males tend to avoid parental duty to some degree…," his mother told him. "Besides, maybe your partner has an intellectual interest in participating in the project. You're no longer in high school. He might be as much of an academic as you are." Castiel heaved a sigh. "Who is your partner?"

"It's Dean Winchester."

"Oh." Castiel frowned, unsure how to interpret that.

"We went to the same high school."

"I know, Castiel. There weren't many dragons in Pontiac so I am aware of the Winchesters," she answered with a sniff. Cas hoped that she would elaborate because clearly she had some thoughts about the family but the silence drew on for too long. "Well. Humor him then." That took Cas by utter surprise.

"But what if he makes me fail?"

"Then you will have learnt a valuable lesson as well," she told him curtly. "I'm sorry, Castiel, but I'll have to attend to patients."

"Of course. Thank you for your time, mother," Castiel said, then he hung up the phone. He looked at the egg, then he sighed. Humoring Dean. That didn't sound very enticing. It didn't seem like his mother expected Dean to do anything else but play at being an alpha father. Of course, the very nature of this exercise was make-believe.

Castiel was prevented from thinking about it further by the door opening.

"Hey Cas!" Castiel startled, but when he looked up to make sure if his ears had played a trick on him, he actually did find Dean standing in front of the counter. He grinned at him.

"I thought I could pay you a visit. How's Hatchiette doing?"

"I… What are you doing here?" Cas asked.

"I just told you?" Dean asked with a smile. "I'm paying a visit. Checking on you and the egg."

"I… uh…" Castiel couldn't find any words coming to him, but Dean continued to smile. (Which didn't make it any easier to switch on his brain.) "I've maintained the egg's temperature. I have put it under the counter for now because I got strange looks."

"Poor Hatchiette," Dean said with a laugh and Cas refrained from telling him that a real egg would hardly be impacted by the current placement. "Can I see her?" Now that the surprise of Dean's visit was wearing off, Cas found it in himself to narrow his eyes at him.

"You do know that it's not a real egg. There are no benefits to seeing it."

"I'm just method acting," Dean said with a wink. Castiel frowned at him, but then his expression became blank. Right. This was a game to Dean and Cas was supposed to humor him. He bent down and got the egg. He held it out to Dean, who took it easily. But he handled it like it was a ball, not a living thing. Well, it wasn't a living thing. But Dean's hand position on the egg was atrocious.

"At three weeks after birth, an egg's shell is slowly starting to harden up but it's still very fragile. If you drop it now it would probably crack on the concrete floor," Castiel told him, keeping his voice calm.

"Relax, Cas. I'm not dropping it," Dean said with a laugh. Then he studied the egg. "Hello Hatchiette. How was your day, sweet thing? Did mommy keep you warm?"

"What are you doing…?"

"Talking to the child obviously! She's got ears at this stage of development, doesn't she?" He put the egg on the counter, softly enough not to make Cas flinch. "But if she fell and cracked she wouldn't make it."

"No. Obviously not… Eggs who crack die," Cas informed him. The pamphlets were very clear on that.

"Well…," Dean said, drawing out the word, but if he was going to say more, then Nora coming into the store cut him short.

"Hi Cas!" Castiel lifted his hand in greeting. "Is that your baby's daddy?" Dean turned around and Cas got to witness how Dean looked Nora up and down, an appreciative smile on his lips.

"Yeah, I'm Dean. I came to check on Hatchiette, I hope that's alright."

"We're not calling it that," Castiel interjected before Nora could get the wrong idea. While Nora was taking off her jacket, she looked from Cas to Dean, her expression open and curious.

"Yeah, sure! Cas' shift is ending soon anyway, you can take your little family home then," she said with a wink. Then she went to the back where the staff room was. Castiel shook his head.

"Do you really carry Hatchiette everywhere you go? Isn't that a bit much?" Dean wondered, patting the egg distractedly, while his eyes wandered to the shelf that held the pornographic magazines.

"This way I can be certain that the egg maintains ideal temperature," Castiel informed him.

"But you also expose her to potentially dangerous situations that she wouldn't be exposed to if she just stayed in a cozy little nest. If you're so worried about ideal temperature then you could either get a heat lamp or an incubator," Dean argued. Castiel had to concede that Dean's argument had some merit to it. "A real dragon wouldn’t carry around her egg all the time either. It would stay in the nest, while she goes to the valley to steal sheep from poor farmers."

"I _am_ a real dragon," Castiel said, his eyes narrowed. Dean shrugged dismissively. "I am a real dragon, just like you! And what is it with you and sheep stealing?"

"Come on Cas, I'm just joking," he said but he sounded slightly annoyed, despite the smile on his lips. "But we're not like _those_ dragons, in the past. Huge creatures breathing fire and terror, sitting on dragon gold. None of us have caves and hoards. Or a weakness for gold and virgins." The last part he said with an exaggerated wink.

"My family _does_ have an ancestral cave. And just because we have assumed human shape out of necessity doesn't mean that our true forms aren't still in our blood. In our instincts," Castiel argued but clearly Dean wasn't having it, if the annoyed roll of his eyes was any indication.

"Please, Cas. It's not instinct that makes you want to keep Hatchiette close. It's textbook learning! Just like it's textbook learning that makes you look like I'm juggling with a grenade when I don't maintain ideal handling position!" Castiel widened his eyes in surprise which had Dean scoff. "I'm not an idiot, Cas."

"I never said you were, but I have to take this seriously. Because I am an omega, Dean. I will be bearing an egg eventually, whether I want to or not. And whether it's instinct or textbook learning or just plain terror, I will make sure that I do it right!" Dean widened his eyes in surprise. "And I will most likely be doing it alone because that's still how it is for the majority of dragon omegas out there. And this is especially how it is for someone who is deemed _unfortunate_." That little speech left Dean just as surprised as it did Cas. He really hadn't meant to say any of that. He lowered his head, feeling his cheeks burn in shame.

"Cas, you alright out there?" Nora asked and when Cas turned around he saw her poking her head out of the staff door, her eyes fliting from Cas to Dean.

"Yes. If you're ready I'm leaving." Nora nodded, her expression uncertain. But Cas didn't dwell on it. He grabbed his bag and he put the egg back into the blanket. He left his place behind the corner and then he passed Dean without glancing at him. "Good night, Nora."

He stepped out into the cool November air and made sure to wrap the egg up a bit firmer. Again, that unsettled feeling had a hold of him but now he could also identify what he felt a bit clearer. He was angry. Yes. He was angry and he felt humiliated. Not exactly because of what Dean had said, but more because of what he had been brought to say himself. His insecurities and his lot in life weren't for Dean to hear. They weren't for anybody. His mother understood, like her mother understood. A whole long blood-line of omegas before him understood this one very basic thing about themselves, about their worth, about alphas. Dean showing up and saying controversial things didn't change it.

"Hey, my car's here," he heard Dean call, when he walked towards the bus stop. He thought about being stubborn, but in the end he turned around and walked up to Dean, a glare on his face as he met Dean's eyes. Dean did look grim, but he also looked a bit uneasy. Good then.

Dean opened the door to his car, the same one he had driven back in high school, pretty much too big and conspicuous for their school or their suburb.

"Sorry," Dean muttered when they were sitting in the car, driving back to campus. Cas didn't say anything. "Tomorrow then," he continued when they were in front of Cas' dorm building.

"Fine." Cas got out and slammed the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think~

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts, comments and constructive criticism are all welcome! :D I usually don't like posting WIPs because I am scatter brained and time to write comes and goes like sunshine on late November days. I'll try to write more and update this in the coming days. Thanks for giving it a read!


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